Rowing exercising apparatus

ABSTRACT

A rowing exercising apparatus includes a frame, a seat member mounted slidably on the frame, a wheel assembly including a resistance flywheel and a transmission wheel cooperatively mounted on the frame, a pull cord connected to the transmission wheel and having a manual operation end, and a restoring unit including an elastic rope having a fixed end mounted to the frame and a moving end connected to the transmission wheel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to an exercising apparatus, more particularly to arowing exercising apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional rowing exercising apparatus 1is shown to comprise a supporting frame 11, a wheel assembly 12, and arestoring unit 13.

The supporting frame 11 includes an elongated bar 111 having front andrear ends, front and rear supporting legs 112, 113 disposed respectivelyon the front and rear ends of the supporting frame 11, a seat member 114mounted slidably on the elongated bar 111 and located between the frontand rear supporting legs 112, 113, two foot plates 115 mountedrespectively on left and right sides of the front end of the elongatedbar 111, and a handle bar 116 mounted movably on the front end of theelongated bar 111.

The wheel assembly 12 includes a resistance wheel 121 mounted on thefront supporting leg 112, a transmission wheel 122 mounted on the frontsupporting leg 112 and spaced apart from the resistance wheel 121, aguide roller 123 mounted on the front supporting leg 112 and disposedproximate to the handle bar 116, a transmission belt 124 interconnectingthe resistance wheel 121 and the transmission wheel 122, and a pull cord125 wound around the transmission wheel 122 and having one end extendingover the guide roller 123 and connected to the handle bar 116.

The restoring unit 13 includes a hollow body 131 mounted on one side ofthe transmission wheel 122, and a coil spring 132 disposed within thebody 131. The coil spring 132 has a central end connected to a bearingof the transmission wheel 122, and a terminal end connected to the body131.

The resistance wheel 121 is a magnetically controlled wheel, and createsa resistance during rotation through magnetic force attraction.

When the handle bar 116 is pulled, the pull cord 125 is unwound from thetransmission wheel 122, thereby causing the transmission wheel 122 andthe resistance wheel 121 to rotate synchronously. The bearing of thetransmission wheel 122, in turn, causes the coil spring 132 to windtightly so as to store a force. When the handle bar 116 is released, thestored force of the coil spring 132 permits restoration of thetransmission wheel 122 to its original position. The pull cord 125 iswound back on the transmission wheel 122 at this time. By repeating theabovementioned steps, a rowing exercise is effected.

However, since the coil spring 132 of the restoring unit 13 is made ofsteel, which is hard and which is less ductile, when the handle bar 116is suddenly pulled, the coil spring 132 is likely to break easily.Moreover, when the handlebar 116 is released, because of the strongreturning force of the coil spring 132, the handle bar 116 is restoredswiftly to its original position so that the handle bar 116 bumps intothe supporting frame 11, which can damage the latter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a rowingexercising apparatus that is capable of overcoming the aforementioneddrawbacks of the prior art.

According to this invention, a rowing exercising apparatus comprises aframe, a seat member mounted slidably on the frame, a wheel assemblyincluding a resistance flywheel and a transmission wheel cooperativelymounted on the frame, a pull cord connected to the transmission wheeland having a manual operation end, and a restoring unit including anelastic rope having a fixed end mounted to the frame and a moving endconnected to the transmission wheel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent in the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a conventional rowing exercisingapparatus;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary schematic view, illustrating a wheel assemblyand a restoring unit of the conventional rowing exercising apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of a rowingexercising apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a top schematic view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3,illustrating a wheel assembly and a restoring unit of the preferredembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line V-V of FIG. 3,illustrating a transmission wheel of the wheel assembly;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged schematic view of the restoring unit ofthe preferred embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of the preferred embodiment in a stateof use;

FIG. 8 illustrates how the wheel assembly and the restoring unit workwhen a handle bar is pulled; and

FIG. 9 illustrates how the wheel assembly and the restoring unit arerestored to their original positions when the handle bar is released.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 6, the preferred embodiment of a rowingexercising apparatus according to the present invention is shown tocomprise a supporting frame, a seat member 6, a wheel assembly 7, a pullcord 74, a handle bar 54, and a restoring unit 8.

The supporting frame, as shown in FIG. 3, includes an elongated bar 2, afront supporting rod 3, a rear supporting plate 4, an upright supportingunit 5, and two foot plates 9. The elongated bar 2 has a front end 21and a rear end 22 opposite to the front end 21. The front supporting rod3 is fixed to an end face of the front end 21 of the elongated bar 2.The rear supporting plate 4 has one end mounted on the ground, and theother end connected to the rear end 22 of the elongated bar 2. Theelongated bar 2 extends inclinedly and upwardly from the front end 21toward the rear end 22.

The upright supporting unit 5 is mounted on the front end 21 of theelongated bar 2 adjacent to the front supporting rod 3, and includesleft and right upright supports 52, 51 extending upwardly on left andright sides of the elongated bar 2, and a connecting portion 53connected to top ends of the left and right supports 52, 51. Each of theleft and right supports 52, 51 has a front side face 55 and a rear sideface 56 opposite to the front side face 55, and front and rear bracketplates 57, 57′ connected respectively to the front and rear side faces55, 56.

The foot plates 9 are connected pivotally and respectively to the leftand right sides of the elongated bar 2.

The seat member 6 is mounted slidably on the elongated bar 2, and islocated between the upright supporting unit 5 and the rear end 22 of theelongated bar 2. The foot plates 9 are located between the seat member 6and the upright supporting unit 5.

The wheel assembly 7 is mounted on the upright supporting unit 5, andincludes a resistance flywheel 71, a transmission wheel 72, a guideroller 73, and a transmission belt 74.

The resistance flywheel 71 is a conventional magnetically controlledwheel, and is disposed adjacent to the front end 21 of the elongated bar2 and between the left and right supports 52, 51. An axle of theresistance flywheel 71 is mounted between the front brackets 57 of theleft and right supports 52, 51.

The transmission wheel 72 is disposed rearwardly of the resistanceflywheel 71. An axle of the transmission wheel 72 is mounted between therear brackets 57′ of the left and right supports 52, 51. Thetransmission wheel 72 has coaxially arranged first, second and thirdannular grooves 721, 722, 723, as best illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The guide roller 73 (see FIG. 7) is mounted on the connecting portion 53of the upright supporting unit 5.

The transmission belt 74 extends over and interconnects the resistanceflywheel 71 and the transmission wheel 72, and is received in the firstannular groove 721.

The pull cord 75 is fixed to and wound around the transmission wheel 72,and has a manual operation end 751. The pull cord 75 is received in thesecond annular groove 722. The operation end 751 of the pull cord 75 isconnected to the handle bar 54 after passing over the guide roller 73.

The restoring unit 8 includes a fixing element 81, a first pulley 83, asecond pulley 82, and an elastic rope 84. In this embodiment, the fixingelement 81 is a metallic pinch tube that is fixed to one end of a rod821, which in turn is mounted on the elongated bar 2 proximate to therear side faces 56 of the supports 51, 52 (see FIGS. 3, 6 and 8).Particularly, the rod 821 is mounted to a bracket 822 on the elongatedbar 2 to support the second pulley 82. The first pulley 83 is mounted onthe elongated bar 2 proximate to the front side faces 55 of the supports51, 52. The second pulley 82 is mounted on the bracket 822, and isdisposed rearwardly of the first pulley 83. The elastic rope 84 has afixed end 841 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) which is fixed within the pinch tubeof the fixing element 81, and a moving end 842 (see FIG. 8) connected tothe transmission wheel 72 after passing over the first and secondpulleys 83, 82. The elastic rope 84 is received in the third annulargroove 723 of the transmission wheel 72.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, when a user grips the handle bar 54 andapplies a pulling force (F) thereon, the pull cord 75 is unwound fromthe transmission wheel 72, thereby causing the transmission wheel 72 todrive the resistance flywheel 71 to rotate simultaneously in a firstdirection shown by an arrow “A”. Since the flywheel 71 is a magneticallycontrolled wheel, it creates a resistance to rotation through magneticforce attraction in a known manner. The elastic rope 84 winds around thethird annular groove 723 at this time so that the elastic rope 84 isstretched and stores energy.

Referring to FIG. 9, when the handle bar 54 is released, the elasticrope 84 contracts, thereby causing the transmission wheel 72 to rotatein a second direction shown by an arrow “B” that is opposite to thefirst direction “A”. The pull cord 75 is thus wound simultaneously backon the transmission wheel 72. Since the elastic rope 84 passes over thefirst and second pulleys 83, 82, the restoring force of the elastic rope84 is less strong than that of the coil spring 132 of the aforesaidconventional rowing exercising apparatus 1. Therefore, the handle bar 54is prevented from swiftly bumping into the upright supporting unit 5,thereby avoiding possible damage to the exercising apparatus.

It should be noted that since the elastic rope 84 has goodstretchability, it provides sufficient extendible length after passingover the first and second pulleys 83, 82 to enable the user to pull thepull cord 75, and it has a gentler restoring effect as compared to themetallic coil spring 132 (see FIG. 2) of the conventional rowingexercising apparatus 1 (see FIG. 1). In addition, since the presentinvention utilizes the elastic rope 84 rather than the metallic coilspring 132, the problem of breakage due to the elastic fatigue of thecoil spring 132 can be avoided.

While the present invention has been described in connection with whatis considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isunderstood that this invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included withinthe spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompassall such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

1. A rowing exercising apparatus comprising: a frame; a seat membermounted slidably on said frame; a wheel assembly including a resistanceflywheel and a transmission wheel cooperatively mounted on said frame; apull cord connected to said transmission wheel and having a manualoperation end; and a restoring unit including an elastic rope having afixed end mounted to said frame and a moving end connected to saidtransmission wheel.
 2. The rowing exercising apparatus as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said frame includes an elongated bar having front andrear ends, and two foot plates mounted respectively on left and rightsides of said elongated bar, said seat member being mounted on saidelongated bar.
 3. The rowing exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 2,wherein said resistance flywheel is disposed on said elongated baradjacent to said front end, said transmission wheel being disposedrearwardly of said resistance flywheel.
 4. The rowing exercisingapparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said wheel assembly furtherincludes a transmission belt extending over and interconnecting saidflywheel and said transmission wheel, said pull cord being wound aroundsaid transmission wheel independently of said transmission belt.
 5. Therowing exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein saidtransmission wheel has coaxially arranged first, second and thirdannular grooves, said first annular groove receiving said transmissionbelt therein, said second annular groove receiving said pull cordtherein, said third annular groove receiving said elastic rope therein.6. The rowing exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein saidframe further includes an upright supporting unit which includes leftand right upright supports extending upwardly on the left and rightsides of said elongated bar, and a connecting portion connected to topends of said left and right supports, said wheel assembly being mountedon said upright supports.
 7. The rowing exercising apparatus as claimedin claim 4, wherein said restoring unit further includes a first pulleymounted on said elongated bar proximate to said front end, and a secondpulley mounted on said elongated bar and disposed rearwardly of saidfirst pulley, said elastic rope passing over said first and secondpulleys between said fixed end and said moving end.
 8. The rowingexercising apparatus as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a handlebar, said operation end of said pull cord being connected to said handlebar.
 9. The rowing exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 8, whereinsaid wheel assembly further includes a guide roller mounted on saidconnecting portion, said pull cord passing over said guide rollerbetween said transmission wheel and said handle bar.